Author: Ben Triandafillou

HORSE RACING MORNINGTON-based trainer Brett Scott landed one of the most memorable wins of the Warrnambool May Carnival having taken out the elusive Galleywood Hurdle (3200m) just five weeks after being released from hospital. Scott was immediately flooded with congratulatory cheers following the tenacious win of his promising jumper The Statesman, ridden by another Mornington-based jockey Will Gordon, in one of the carnival’s feature jumps races on Wednesday 5 May. Scott, a four-time Grand Annual Steeplechase-winning jockey, had overcome life-threatening injuries after being kicked in the head by a horse at his Mornington property just two months earlier. Scott said…

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HORSE RACING MATT Laurie has made the tough call to retire his promising sprinter Alfa Oro with injuries cutting his time on the racetrack short. The six-time winner who earnt just shy of $250,000 in prize money did a phenomenal job to even make a return to the racetrack after suffering a spiral fracture in his front leg as an early three-year-old in 2018. Missing his entire three-year-old season and spending more than 20 months on the sidelines, Alfa Oro made an encouraging resumption finishing second at Pakenham in April last year. The now five-year-old son of Bachelor Duke went…

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HORSE RACING MORNINGTON-based apprentice jockey Matthew Cartwright combined with his mother and grandmother, Leonie Proctor and Lyn Tolson, to claim metropolitan success at Caulfield on Saturday 24 April. The ever-improving Tolson and Proctor-trained Curran topped off a fruitful five-start campaign with a gutsy victory in the $135,000 Di Beretta Handicap (1200m). Given a patient ride by Cartwright, Curran eventually wore down the tearaway leader Yulong Command in the dying stages of the race to win by a long-neck. Despite having ridden 13 metropolitan winners, Cartwright said Saturday’s victory for his family was the most special win of his career to…

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HORSE RACING PREMIERSHIP leading jockey Jamie Kah continued her emphatic record with the Anthony and Sam Freedman-trained La Mexicana at Caulfield on Saturday 17 April. Combining for the eighth time in the I Am invincible filly’s career, Kah once again managed to get the best out of La Mexicana to win the $150,000 VOBIS Gold Dash and bring up the filly’s sixth win with Kah onboard. Returning from a seven-week let-up after a failed Sydney trip for the Group One Surround Stakes (1400m), La Mexicana was right back to her best at Caulfield with the VOBIS riches up for grabs.…

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HORSE RACING MICHAEL Mehegan’s handy filly Miss Inbetween shot back into the winner’s circle on Monday 5 April with a strong win at Sandown. The three-year-old filly by Fighting Sun relished the drop back in grade after tackling two Group Three contests at her past three starts. Settling towards the rear of the field, Miss Inbetween showed plenty of fight to run down the up-and-coming Sirileo Miss in the closing stages of the 1400m event. Mornington-based trainer Michael Mehegan said it was great to see her back on track for her main targets after being unplaced this preparation. “We spoke…

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